A Made by Asking experiment All ideas
For apartments. For working owners.

Know how their day went.

One camera that watches your dog or cat while you're out, and turns the day into a timeline you can actually read.

Not a vet diagnosis. Pawtrail helps you notice, it never replaces one.

Pawtrail camera on a shelf, with a dog resting on a rug and a cat on the sofa both looking toward it
The gap in your day

You leave. The guessing starts.

Thin walls, a neighbor who already knocked once, a pet who can't tell you what the afternoon was like.

The neighbor note

A text about barking during your meetings, with no idea when it started.

The closed door

An untouched bowl, or a cat under the bed, and no clue what led to it.

The vague vet visit

"When did the vomiting start?" is hard to answer from memory.

How it works

Three steps, no new habits

1

Point it at their spot

One camera, aimed at the living room, crate or window perch.

2

It learns their normal

A quiet first stretch: typical rest, play and bark patterns, no alerts yet.

3

You get the recap and flags

A daily "how was their day" timeline, plus a push alert the moment something looks off.

What it watches for

Built around the hours you can't see

Activity & rest

Minutes active, resting or pacing, charted across the day.

Bark & whine episodes

Flagged by length and intensity, against their own baseline.

Separation stress signals

Pacing and vocal patterns near the door, shown with the clip.

Eating & stillness

Missed meals, vomiting, or stillness past their normal nap.

Daily recap

One evening timeline, so you walk in already knowing.

Two-way audio

Let them hear your voice between meetings, on your schedule.

Why it works

Grounded in published research

We build on existing behavior studies, not our own invented metrics.

Dogs · vocalizing & distress

Harvey et al. (2022, Animals): dogs whose alone-time jumped most were most likely to develop new separation behaviour, including vocalizing.

Read the study →
Cats · subtle stress signs

AAFP/ISFM guidelines: cats rarely show overt stress. Quiet shifts like hiding matter most — what our cat mode is tuned to.

Read the guidelines →
The honest limit

No diagnosis, no illness detection. Just your pet's baseline and something concrete to bring to the vet.

Woman smiling at her phone at an office desk, looking at a video of her dog at home
Who it's for

Three afternoons this is built for

Rescue dog, new apartment

Dana, hybrid schedule

Needs to know if her anxious rescue's whining is easing or getting worse — with proof for the trainer, not just a feeling.

Senior cat, open-plan studio

Marcus, full-time office job

His older cat has started hiding more. He wants the pattern, not another guessing game at 7pm.

New puppy, thin walls

Priya & Theo, shared building

One noise complaint already. They want to catch the barking windows before the next one.

Pricing

Early-access pricing (planned)

Nothing is billed today — these are the tiers we're planning to launch with.

Planned

Starter

$12/mo
one pet, one camera
  • Activity & rest tracking
  • Bark & whine alerts
  • 7-day history
Join waitlist
Planned

Multi-pet Plus

$29/mo
unlimited pets, 4 cameras
  • Everything in Household
  • Vet-ready clip export
Join waitlist
FAQ

Before you ask

Does it diagnose anxiety or illness?

No. It flags patterns against your pet's baseline and shows the clip. Any health call stays with your vet or trainer.

Who can see the footage?

Detection runs on-device. Clips are encrypted; only you and anyone you invite can view them.

What about a neighbor or guest on camera?

Aimed at your pet's area, not shared spaces. You control access. Not built for monitoring people.

How long before it knows my pet's normal?

Roughly two weeks of quiet learning before alerts turn on. Before that, it says it's still calibrating.

Dogs, cats, or both?

Both, with separate tuning: bark and whine patterns for dogs, a stillness-and-hiding model for cats.

Any wiring or subscription needed?

Just power and Wi-Fi. Basic live view works free; tracking, alerts and timeline are a paid tier at launch.

Early access

Get on the Pawtrail waitlist

We'll email you as cameras become available, starting with working owners in apartments.

No spam, no sharing your email.

You're on the list

We'll reach out as early-access spots open up.